The final instalment of the Harry Potter franchise had a lot of expectations to live up to otherwise it would fizzle out like a poorly performed Patronus. Firstly is how it compares to the novel, usually film adaptations come under a lot of criticism if they do not follow the novel to the letter. However, without wanting to sound patronising it is hard for films to really come into its own if they play too close to the novel. Whilst The Deathly Hallows Part 2 keeps all the major events and important bits in the film it also adds a few little extras. It is because of these extras that the film is an enjoyable watch for those viewers who haven’t read the books. Also the added extras provide a slight but necessary detour from the action and provide hints of both humour and romance. However, in regards to the humour it seems to mainly come from Rupert Grint who plays Ron which is a bit of a backwards step considering in Part 1, his character was more moody and sullen and this showed his development not only as a character but as an actor as well. However, as for Harry and Hermione they both show development as characters as they both take on more risks within their roles, for example Hermione’s braininess seems to take a back seat to her new found brawn and Harry as well as having the necessary seriousness required of the role but he also cracks a few jokes. But the most amazing 360 is made my Neville Longbottom, I’m sure the die hard fans of the novels and the films alike remember the chubby, notoriously clumsy and forgetful boy that stumbled through the first few films/books but he started to “grow a pair” around The Order of the Phoenix. Although it was in Part 1 when he stood up to the Death Eater on the train that he truly became a man. He confirms this change again in his performance in the Battle of Hogwarts with his noble speech to Voldemort.Although the film does have a few pitfalls if you are going to watch it in 3D. There are some scenes that really benefit from the technology like when the dragon escapes from the vault in Gringotts but there are very few visually spectacular scenes that require the use of the technology. Also, as the film is quite dark and not originally filmed in 3D it makes some of the scenes darker than normal because the effect is added in post production. However, despite the minor flaws I would still recommend it as a film for the fans, especially those that have hung in there from the beginning waiting for Harry to fulfil his destiny and for Ron and Hermione to realise they are mad about each other. However for the hard core fans of the books as well as the film they are not left with an unfair advantage as there is enough original material to keep everyone happy and cinema goers leave the theatre feeling a mixture of sadness because the adventure is over but also elation because they have seen it through to the end.

It has recently come to my attention that the Duke Nukem franchise may be getting rebooted with a game titled ‘Duke Begins’ but when looking at Dukes latest outing this could either be something of a saving grave, or an unholy nightmare.No doubt most people are aware that the recent release ‘Duke Nukem Forever’ did very poorly with almost every review ripping it to shreds offering little to no redeeming quality’s of the game, which for most just came across as another generic first person shooter that just happened to feature Duke Nukem. Now first let it be know that I myself am not really a Nukem fan, I played and still have Duke 3D which is a pretty impressive shooter, and when I heard about Duke Forever I half expected it to be a newer more updated version of this classic title and I think many others did to.

Have you ever heard of a PC game called ‘The Neverhood’ no didn’t think so,although the game received positive reviews it was not a commercial hit and it didn’t help that its release coincided with the mid-1990s decline of the adventure game, which also caused the failure of such other great titles as the brilliant Grim Fandango. ‘The Neverhood’ is a point and click adventure game created by Doug Tenapal (creator of Earth worm Jim) which was made using claymation graphics making it look very original compared to games such as broken sword etc.. The story was not exactly memorable especially when it is not entirely reviled until the end of the game, you simply start the game with no explanation or story which is kind of nice in the idea of creating your own back story or searching for clues to your existence. Being a point and click you can guess that the puzzles were the main aspect of the game and yes they are both intelligent and funny, having said that the entire game is quite funny not just in the characters action but also the music which is both catchy and humorous.

If, like me, you’re a fan of the incredible ‘Back t the Future’ film franchise then you may be interested to know that after 26 years of pondering one of the biggest questions of the Movie has finally be answered, Just how did Marty Mcfly and Doc Brown meet and become such good friends. After finding a question regarding the friendship, Back to the future Co-Writer Bob Gale had this to say:

In 2009 Twisted Pixel released Splosion Man onto the Xbox Live Arcade , the game gained almost instant popularity due to its mix of simplistic controls, challenging levels and original humour. Now two years later fans have been treated with the awaited sequel entitled Ms Splosion man which bares the obvious similarities to its predecessor while offering up so many new additions that it manages to feel like a completely new experience, having recently completed the single player mode I can easily state that Ms Splosion Man far surpasses the first game while still keeping a great deal of its original charm.